True Detective season 2: Who could replace McConaughey and Harrelson?

After eight intoxicating weeks of slow-burn mystery building, haunting visuals and poetically bleak monologues, True Detective concluded its first season in the US on Sunday night.

You'll get no spoilers from us, but regardless of how things ended up for world-weary detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart, we know that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will not return for the show's next eight episodes.

Creator Nic Pizzolatto has always been clear about the fact that this is an anthology series, designed to be reinvented each season with new characters, a new setting and possibly even a new genre - within the limitation of the title.

It's entirely possible that the next season will focus on a single character, or a group of characters, but for argument's sake let's imagine Pizzolatto is planning to write another two-hander. Who could fill McConaughey and Harrelson's shoes? We rounded up some ideas below…

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for House of Cards season two.

Ian McKellen and Patrick StewartNo, we're not joking - alright, so Ian and P-Stew might have become notorious of late for their amazing bromance, but they're also two highly-respected thesps who've proven on multiple occasions that they have a formidable chemistry on-screen as well as off. Imagine a season that casts Stewart and McKellen as two retired Brit detectives who come out of retirement to solve 'that one case' that foiled them - it could be incredible television.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Kristen BellBuffy Summers. Veronica Mars. Solving crime. Need we say more? These are both remarkably capable actresses best known for a beloved cult character, neither of whom has been well used since their respective shows ended. Gellar's plainly in the market for new television gigs, and, fresh off the Veronica Mars movie, Bell has reminded the world just how winning and complex a screen presence she is when given the right material.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey MaguireLike McConaughey and Harrelson, these real-life BFFs will have the chemistry box ticked right off the bat. Leo bowing out of movie work for even eight episodes of television may feel like a stretch, but the show has even more clout now than it did when McConaughey and Harrelson signed on to what was essentially an unknown quantity, so it's not out of the question. Meanwhile, Maguire just completed a stint on Fox mini-series The Spoils of Babylon, so if anything this would be a substantial step up.

Sandra Bullock and Halle BerryAfter years in rom-com purgatory, Bullock pulled off her own quiet McConaughey-esque comeback with her Oscar win for The Blind Side in 2010, and has been on a strong streak since. But neither The Heat nor Gravity gave her much to work with on the character front, and a stint on HBO would feel like a shrewd career move. Berry's had a rough decade since her own Oscar win, but she's proved her chops often enough to make this combination work.

Idris Elba and Michael B JordanTwo stars on the verge of becoming huge in Hollywood, True Detective could be just the right sort of project to lure Mandela lead Elba and Chronicle actor Jordan back to the small screen, where they both originally found fame in HBO's The Wire - just the notion of Big Dris as a veteran, Luther-esque cop with Michael B as his new rookie partner has us all giddy.

Michael Keaton and Jack NicholsonKeaton has toyed with taking on television in the past - having briefly been linked to the role of Jack in Lost - while Nicholson is a veteran star with enormous screen presence yet few recent hits on the big-screen. True Detective season two would be the ideal project for the pair to recapture a little of their former success and play off their on-screen dynamic from 1989's Batman.

Corey Stoll and Michael KellyAs you may have noticed, House of Cards makes a habit of killing off its best characters. In season one it was Corey Stoll's tormented congressman Peter Russo, and this season it was Michael Kelly's tormented chief of staff Doug Stamper. But just imagine how compelling these two would be together, playing a pair of tormented detectives. Heck, let's throw the show's other dearly departed major player Kate Mara into the mix as a long-suffering wife or shady femme fatale.

Stephen Fry and Hugh LaurieLaurie was understandably ready for a break from the US television grind after eight years on House, but a season on HBO is a whole different animal. An across-the-pond Fry & Laurie reunion has been tantalisingly close in the past - at one stage Fry was filming Bones on the next soundstage over from Laurie in the House days - and the pair's chemistry and comedic rhythm would be guaranteed. Given the importance of old-time country music in season one of True Detective, Laurie could even incorporate his jazz sideline into the character much as he did with the piano on House.

Lauren Graham and Connie BrittonAnother pair of real-life chums, Parenthood star Graham and Nashville's Britton are not only star actresses but used to be roommates. Prior commitments to their networks shows mean that this True Detective team will likely exist only in our dreams and that's a shame - casting Graham and Britton as joint leads would serve as a refreshing switch-up from the testosterone-heavy first season.

Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke2001's Training Day was one of the best cop thrillers in recent memory so why not reunite its two leads, Oscar winner Denzel Washington and nominee Ethan Hawke, for True Detective season two? In a twist on the film's dynamic, Washington could be the (reasonably) straight-shooter here and Hawke the McConaughey-esque maverick. You could even hire Training Day director Antoine Fuqua - yet to replicate the film's success - to fill the departing Cary Fukunaga's shoes.

Which of our picks is your favorite? Who would you like to see star in True Detective season two? Share your thoughts below!